


G-Man's Repentance

by IRegretNothingAndEverything



Series: Tommy is of the stars, Benrey of the void, Bubby of the tube, and Coomer of the enhanced. Gordon? Gordon's along for the ride. [12]
Category: Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Bubby has lowered motor control and tremors, Gordon has a prosthetic, Harmony's wife, IE they do beat up G-Man again but they don't kill him, It's mostly Coomer being very angry and Gordon being like 'well why not', M/M, Multi, The OG character is Harmony, Violence against Immortals, and g-man has None so uh, hi this is a bit edited cause i finally decided what pronouns i wanted everyone to have, joshua is deaf, none of them are cis or neurotypical, she deserved a wife, the other is Gemma, there are two og characters, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25987435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IRegretNothingAndEverything/pseuds/IRegretNothingAndEverything
Summary: After nine years in the void, thinking upon the mistakes made, G-Man realized something.G-Man was an assholeCurrently Editing to do the proper pronouns (now that my headcanons for them have solidified)
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman, Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Tommy Coolatta/Darnold
Series: Tommy is of the stars, Benrey of the void, Bubby of the tube, and Coomer of the enhanced. Gordon? Gordon's along for the ride. [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1871698
Comments: 11
Kudos: 132





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> SHHhhh don't worry about it, I'll keep writing Affection Rats and Dogs my brain just told me this needed to happen y'know?

Time in the void wasn’t exactly linear, but it did connect to the real world. Tommy had destroyed him rather well, and, in a bittersweet moment, he was proud of his son for having the strength and ability to do something so taxing, both emotionally and physically. 

He had no doubt that Tommy knew he loved him, near unconditionally. It was his way of showing it that was the issue. This was unsurprisingly. He wasn’t human enough for anyone to think the way he showed love as normal. 

G-Man had spent the first year of his atomatic existence in the void, adamant he had done the right thing, arguing this point to no one but himself. The next couple years? He began to think of it different. He began to think of what Gordon Freeman had told him after breaking his nose. 

That had hurt... 

Still. It took him four years to realize... oh he had been horribly horribly wrong. That was the moment he decided to start piecing himself back together, rather than waiting for Tommy to get upset enough to come looking for him. He would do it himself, build himself back up and be better. 

For Tommy. 

It took a total of nine years being atoms scattered across the void between the worlds, until he had rebuilt himself perfectly. Tommy had done a good job scattering him throughout existence, probably as a defense in case G-Man hadn’t thought about his problems. 

The only thing he wished, as he fitted the last pieces of himself back together, was that Tommy would forgive him for what he had done. 

Tommy’s friends came to mind seconds later, as G-Man prepared to return home, and he realized... no, Tommy’s forgiveness is not the one he should be looking for. 

It was theirs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harmony has a wife now, her name is Gemma, I love her a lot, they're trans lesbians and I would die for them.

“Dad come on!” Joshua called from the porch as Gordon leaned into the car, grabbing the bag of food they had brought for the cookout they had planned. Joshua was leaning half over the porch railing, grinning at him. Gordon leaned out of the car, laughing softly as he slipped the bag over his shoulder. 

“I’m coming Joshie.” He grinned, watching as Joshua shifted, flipping off the porch and landing on the lawn, running over to him. 

“Need help?” 

“Nah, I’m good kiddo.” They walked up towards the house, Joshua racing off once he heard Sunkist barking from inside the house. He skidded to a stop, hugging her carefully, as she squirmed and barked. He laughed, still amazed by the noise, and Gordon pushed the door shut behind him, setting the cooler bag down in the kitchen. Harmony looked up, and smiled at him. 

“Welcome back, Gordon.” Gordon hummed, moving over to hug her carefully, peeking into the backyard, where Bubby and Coomer were wrestling in the yard, Tommy and Benrey watching them while talking. He didn’t see Darnold, but knew he was there somewhere, as Gordon had driven them there before remembering the bag he was supposed to bring. It was the only reason he left. 

“Where’s Gemma?” 

“She had to run for a bit, realized that, even with your bag, there might not be enough food for this group.” Harmony looked pointedly out the window, and Gordon huffed, conceding that point to her. As he was looking out the window, he saw Darnold move into view, having been around the house, talking animatedly as he walked towards Tommy. 

He looked back towards Joshua, finding him carefully wrestling with Sunkist, catching them just as Sunkist got the back of his shirt, tugging him down the floor to his excited laughter, squirming slightly to free himself. Gordon laughed softly, moving over and petting Sunkist. She dropped his shirt, barking up at him, and Gordon laughed. “Go back to Tommy, you lil shit.” Sunkist turned, barked at Gordon again, and then grabbed the back of Joshua’s shirt to tug him towards the door carefully. Joshua huffed, following, but grinning. 

Gordon followed, moving over to Benrey, who set his leg down and tugging Gordon down into his lap, grinning at him, green floating around them quietly. He laughed softly, shifting to settling into his lap properly. 

Tommy watched quietly, listening to Darnold talk on a flower he had found along the side of Harmony’s house, smiling. Coomer and Bubby pulled themselves up the porch, Coomer victorious as always, and Bubby settled into a chair, taking a sip from a soda can with a straw bobbing inside of it. It was nice, as he heard another car pull up, signalling that Gemma was home. 

It was nice, calm, and he felt safe here now, with his family. He felt... weird for just a moment, like something had happened, bigger than this, but he brushed it off. He had felt it before, and he hadn’t seen anything, so it didn’t really matter, he was sure of that much. He hoped. 

God, that was weird. 

He closed his eyes for a moment, and Darnold hummed, trailing off, not upset that Tommy didn’t seem to be paying attention anymore. He knew that Tommy was, and was going to retain all of it, but something was up for the moment, and Darnold held onto his hand. Tommy smiled, squeezing it carefully, opening one eye to look at him. 

“I’m alright.” He said softly, and Darnold nodded, going back to what he was saying, not letting go of Tommy’s hand. Bubby and Coomer were talking too, about... something, who knows what at this point, but it was a playful argument, and sweet voice floated around them, dissipating as the sun hit it, as Gordon and Benrey spoke. Joshua rolled on the grass with Sunkist, and they were fine. 

Which, when the world drifted grey for just a second before the color came back, of course went wrong. Were they not allowed one thing? Time did not pause, but everyone seemed to notice it, as the world drifted between full color and grey scale, and a spilt open in the grass, and Sunkist yanked Joshua away from it, as he had frozen. Gordon was up, still able to lift Joshua up and away from it, as... 

As G-Man shifted into being in front of them, and the world slowly went back to normal, full color, the rift to the void closing, and G-Man popped his neck, blinking a few times as he looked around, almost confused. Tommy stared at him, feeling his chest grow tight, as his father made eye contact with him. 

However, before he could say a word, Coomer had launched himself at him, and Tommy took that moment to scramble inside, slamming his hip into the counter in his panic to get away, and collapsed to the ground. Gemma looked over, moving to him quickly, as Darnold followed behind Tommy. Gemma looked over at Harmony, jerking her head out towards the backyard. Harmony slipped out to see what was going on, as Darnold settled next to Tommy, coaching him through breathing. 

“What happened?” 

“Awhile back... you know Tommy isn’t human, and his dad isn’t either, they had to... well, Tommy had to destroy him. Completely. It didn’t kill him, I don’t think he can die, and he’s uh... he’s back.” 

Gemma blinked, looking out towards the backyard. 

“Coomer’s got him for now, I think, and they have Benrey too.” Darnold managed to get Tommy breathing right, calming down, tears streaking down his face despite it. 

“Tommy, honey, are you alright?” Gemma asked softly, one hand on his face, and he nodded slightly, blinking once before looking up at her. 

“I... I don’t...” He whimpered, closing his eyes. Darnold hummed softly, one careful pitch, and it calmed Tommy a bit. “He’s... he’s not bad, guys, he’s not, he loves me, but I’m... I don’t want to lose this, I don’t want to, and I’m scared he’s gonna do something again, but he’s my dad, I still-” 

“It’s alright, hun, breathe.” Gemma glanced over at Darnold, who was holding onto one of Tommy’s hands, pressing it against his chest and breathing carefully, Tommy beginning to mirror it, and Gemma nodded slowly. “I want to you listen to me for a second, alright hun?” Tommy nodded once, and Gemma smiled. 

“I’m gonna tell you a story, and it might fight, it might not, but it’s the best I’ve got for you. When I came out to my mamma? She was supportive, and she loved me. Nothing changed. When I came out to my dad? He hated it, called me a few choice words, and kicked me out back to my mom’s. I cut him off completely, since he kept trying to talk to me, and there were so many people ‘but he’s your dad’ or ‘he still loves you’, but the one person who didn’t say that was my mother.” Tommy watched quietly, the story calming and also confusing him. “She told me ‘the only person you need to worry about is you. If they hurt you, and you think it can’t be fixed? Don’t try. You don’t owe anyone a single thing, not even someone you’re blood related to.’“ 

Tommy blinked slowly, nodding a moment, sniffling. 

“If he hurt you, or your friends, and I know he did, and you think he can’t be fixed? You don’t owe it to him to try. He’s your father, I get that, I do, but he hurt you. The ultimate decision of if he deserves to be redeemed comes down to you. If you think he’s worth it to try, that’s okay, but if not? That’s okay too.” Tommy nodded again, wiping at his eyes, shifting to stand. Gemma pulled herself away, one hand out to each of them to pull them up. Tommy let out a careful breath, before stepping outside again. 

Surprisingly, Coomer was no longer in a fight with G-Man. Coomer was unscathed, and G-Man was rather roughed up, as he realigned his nose again, staring down at the grass quietly, and when Tommy looked close he could see the tears in his eyes, and he felt something... He couldn’t say what, and instead blew his rarely used sweet voice to the side, colors shifting and changing, fear, confusion, pain, and he looked back to G-Man. 

Gordon was over there as well, one hand on Coomer’s arm, glaring at G-Man, and Tommy sighed softly, carefully walking down onto the grass himself. He looked to the side, seeing Benrey, form rippling a bit, but he and Bubby had Joshua, Harmony, and Sunkist, away from them, keeping them safe, and despite the fact that Sunkist would never need protection, he felt grateful for it, knowing they had protected her. 

G-Man stood, not straight up, and, as usual, he was shorter than Tommy. Tommy, all those years ago, when he had stood next to G-Man and marveled at the fact that he was taller than him, and G-Man didn’t let that go to waste, letting himself be shorted, only around Tommy, had felt that being taller than G-Man was a huge deal, so powerful. Now, it was something. What, Tommy didn’t know. It was safe, that G-Man had made himself small for Tommy, and the idea of it, the safety net brought tears back to his eyes. 

He didn’t hug his dad. God, he wanted to, he missed him, but... he had more important things to worry about, and G-Man knew this, he could see it, and he didn’t move closer towards him either. It was quiet, as the others watched them, two celestials, both crying and watching each other, in silence, before Tommy sighed softly, closing his eyes tightly. 

“Please. Please tell me. Tell me the truth, dad, tell me, you know what I’m asking.” Tommy stared at him, and G-Man sighed softly, nodding slowly. 

“Tommy...” He went silent, eyes darting around the group, but, despite that, he didn’t request them to talk alone. It’s what he would have expected from him, those few years ago, but he didn’t. instead focusing back on Tommy. “I’m sorry. There may be... very few things that I could do... to fix this, but... If you would give me the chance, I would take it. If you want me to leave you alone, I’ll do that too. Whatever it is, I want to fix this.” 

Tommy stared at him quietly, tears slowly making their way down his face, before he looked over at Gordon quietly. His eyes were hard while he glared at G-Man, but softened when they looked towards Tommy. They were silent for a moment, before Tommy brought one hand up, wiping at his eyes. “You think we have room for one more?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh... G-Man's back and Coomer beat the shit out of him! Violence against Immortals babey!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some trouble with this chapter but eh, it's here so!

No one was really happy about it. Harmony and Gemma didn’t actually know who G-Man was, but picked up pretty well on the anger most of the group radiated at him.Gordon didn’t take his eyes off of G-Man, glaring at him darkly, and G-Man seemed to just accept it as a fact of life at this point. Tommy wasn’t fully happy with it, but he did want to give his dad the chance. He could tell, just by knowing him, that he was really trying. 

It was only slightly mitigated by the fact that G-Man’s bruises were starting to show, as he carefully cleaned himself up, not coming up onto the back porch until he was sure he wasn’t going to drip... what was blood, but looked almost shadow like, as it seemed to suck the light from everything around it. It was a simply courtesy in his eyes, as he carefully settled himself in a chair near Tommy, but not right next to him. No one sat on either side of him, and Benrey even went as far as sitting in Gordon’s lap rather than sitting near him. 

The conversation was stilted, and no one made too many attempts to include G-Man, but he didn’t try that hard either, glancing around and listening, sure, but not doing anything to make himself more approachable. He barely spoke a word, as one of his eyes swelled shut and he just started to look more sad than threatening. 

Darnold pressing himself against Tommy’s side, holding onto his hand. “Is he... always like this?” 

“He doesn’t really know how to socialize with humans.” Tommy explained, and Darnold nodded slowly. 

“And you somehow do?” 

“I actually tried.” 

G-Man said nothing, but a flash of sadness crossed his face, and his head moved, just barely, and Tommy knew he wouldn’t be paying too much attention to him now. 

It was... incredibly awkward, in the long run, as G-Man’s presence seemed to bring the entire group down. He went to talk once, only once, just barely showing it, but Joshua noticed. He stared at G-Man, not sure who he really was, but saw the hatred in his father’s eyes, and thus, when he went to speak, Joshua lifted his hand and tugged his hearing aid off, setting in on the table in front of him. He didn’t try again, nodding very slightly in acknowledgement, letting himself sit in silence. 

Even Gemma and Harmony’s bright conversation couldn’t keep everything going, even when they brought food around, and G-Man spoke the only words the entire time to thank them softly, just barely there. Tommy noticed it, however, as did Gemma, who patted him on the back, smiling and moving on. G-Man completely froze at this, as if he were trying to reboot, blinking once. 

It didn’t take long for them all to seem to realize that this wasn’t going to work. They couldn’t slide perfectly into pretending he wasn’t there. Tommy felt drained after barely an hour with G-Man there, even if he said nothing, and sunk slightly in his seat, closing his eyes. With that, he didn’t noticed G-Man look to him. What he did notice was a few noises around him, the scraping of a chair and footsteps, and, when he opened his eyes, G-Man was gone, other than the lingering feeling in the back of his head, hair on the back of his neck raising as he felt a thought not his own drift through his head. 

I apologize for intruding. You can contact me in the way you wish, though I will... be in touch.

Tommy sighed softly, leaning forwards to gently hit his head on the table in front of him. Darnold slipped a hand under his forehead, and Tommy stopped, eyes closed. “God... He doesn’t know how dramatic he is.” He muttered, and Bubby snorted. 

“He just stood up and left. Where’s he planning on going?” 

“I have no clue.” Tommy muttered, and it made him feel gross, the idea that he was leaving his father to fend for himself in a world he hadn’t seen in a few years, but he knew that G-Man could take care of himself. He didn’t want to think about him. He spent the last nine years not thinking about this, he wanted to keep that streak going, if only for the rest of the day. 

“I think we should get home.” Gordon said softly. It was disappointing. They had planned this nearly a month in advance, with Gemma’s job rarely giving her the time to spend with them all together. Still, they packed up, waving by to the group, as it was still Harmony’s week to have Joshua, and drove off, Tommy pressed into the smallest ball he could manage against Darnold’s side, willing himself to just stop thinking about his father. 

It wasn’t going to work, but at least he could say he tried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tommy's being angsty, but he's allowed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Finally doing this again! 
> 
> Quick life update: I just started college, so my writing speed? Is probably going to slow way down, but I'm not surprised that it hasn't already. HLVRAI just make my brain go BRRRRRR

Tommy didn’t want to get up when they stopped the car, but that was fine. Darnold just shifted, tugging him out of the car and lifting him into his arms. He almost overbalanced, but Gordon was behind him, so they leveled out easily, and Darnold carried Tommy inside, as Tommy clung onto Darnold’s shirt, pretending they didn’t all know he was crying. Sunkist trotted after them quietly, sensing Tommy’s upset. 

God, why was he crying? It didn’t make sense. Tommy shouldn’t be nearly as emotional about this as he was at that moment. He huffed, pressing his face into Darnold’s shoulder. He didn’t pay attention to the conversation at first, before Darnold shifted the shoulder his face was pressed into, and said his name again. Tommy looked up, eyes narrowed slightly. 

“You want to go back to our room to calm down, or just get the conversation out of the way?” He asked, and Tommy hummed softly, pressing his face back into his shoulder, before sighing, tapping his arm twice. Darnold nodded slightly, moving over to the couch to settle into it, Tommy shifting slightly just to get more comfortable on his lap. Sunkist sat at Darnold’s feet, head pressed against Tommy’s side. Tommy didn’t really pay attention to where they sat, but did know that Benrey sat next to Darnold, tugging Tommy’s legs over his lap so he wasn’t so scrunched up, and then folded his body on top of them so he couldn’t move them back. 

It got a small smile from him, and Tommy actually felt a bit better. He leaned over a moment to flick the back of Benrey’s head, and only got a bubble of sweet voice in reply. He pulled back, shifting again to settle more comfortably with Benrey having stolen his legs. Darnold wrapped his arms around Tommy’s middle, and they settled like that. 

For a moment, they sat in silence, though Tommy noted they were probably waiting on Bubby, who usually took a moment after getting home to sit somewhere quiet before popping back into the room after a minute or two, which proved to be true when Bubby came in moments later, letting Coomer tug him against his side, kicking his feet up on the couch, pressing them into the cushion of the bend, the area of the couch that was almost always empty anyways, with Gordon leaning against Benrey’s back like he was at the moment. 

They had to talk about it. Tommy sighed softly. “I expected him sooner, if I’m being honest. He could have pulled himself together again quicker than nine years, which means he wasn’t trying until he realize I wasn’t going to do it for him.” 

Gordon hummed, and Tommy almost wanted to change his mind. Darnold wouldn’t say anything. Tommy just hated the look that Gordon got in his eyes when they talked about his dad. Gordon had stated long ago that he did not trust G-Man a single moment, and often times, it was like Gordon actively hated him, but he still defaulted to Tommy for anything to do with him. Benrey was much the same, and it frustrated Tommy a bit. 

Not because they had done anything wrong, no, but because his father had gotten two of his close friends to hate him with such a burning passion, and yet Tommy just couldn’t let him go. He was the one who had found the little star, and took him in. Even if he had thought, for a moment, that it was supposed to be just long enough to get him to other stars. Tommy was happy that he had attached himself so securely to him. 

“So... what are we... gonna do?” Gordon asked, rather carefully, and Tommy huffed, turning his head back into Darnold’s shoulder for a moment, before speaking directly into his shoulder. 

“I can handle him. You guys don’t need to worry about him, not, not until I think he’s allowed to get close to you guys again.” Now he turned his head, eyes narrowed slightly. “As much as I want to say ‘no, I’m done’... I-I can’t be. He’s... He was around way back then, he’s the one who brought me here, and without him I wouldn’t have you guys. I just... Bbbbb.” He trailed off, closing his eyes, trying to think of the right words to get his thoughts out. 

Darnold hummed, shifting to place his head on top of Tommy’s. Tommy accepted this, even slouching a bit more so that Darnold wouldn’t have to strain his neck. “You care about him, even if you think you shouldn’t.” 

“Yeah.” Tommy mumbled. 

“Well, no matter what, I got my licks in!” Coomer grinned over at Tommy, and, despite himself, Tommy grinned back. 

“Pretty nasty black eye he got from that.” Tommy commented, and Coomer’s grin just grew with his pride. Bubby laughed, but said nothing, teeth stuck in Coomer’s metal arm.   
Benrey shifted, sitting up just enough to glance around at them, before blowing a line of sweet voice up. He hurts Tommy, I hurt him. Simple enough message, but Tommy smiled, leaning a bit out from under Darnold’s chin to pat Benrey’s head once, and Benrey blew blue right at his face as he leaned back, tucking his head back under Darnold’s. 

“I’m with Benrey on this one.” Gordon said, and Tommy hummed. 

“No surprises there... We all know how you feel about him, you broke his nose.” Bubby was slightly muffled as he spoke, and Gordon just laughed. 

“Yeah... well... I’ll do it again if I have to.” 

“I’ll help!” Coomer grinned. “Even if I got revenge for what he did to Bubby, if he hurts Tommy again, there is nothing that will save him from our combined wrath!” 

Darnold nodded his agreement, just barely, and Tommy smiled softly, closing his eyes. He knew they wouldn’t make him chose, and it let him relax. Despite their misgivings about G-Man, they were gonna give him another chance. 

Tommy just hoped that he didn’t fuck up this one too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, for scenes like this, I draw the thing theyre on (in this case a couch) and put their names in to keep it all straight in my head. So there is a bent rectangle with their names and arrows on it to show everything.

**Author's Note:**

> So, if we do the math, the only person who would have aged that had a real age is Joshua. He was four in What Happened, making thirteen now. He's a sassy lil shit who still loves cowboys. 
> 
> Also this is more of a prologue than the real fic, but it was important! And it's a nice one am thing real quick.


End file.
